A very well written film. The format is like many others but the director uses an original way to present the storytelling. Though without sophistication, this film is emotionally deep. It presents, in my opinion, all the aspects of cold and problematic Russian society from a woman's point of view.

Nothing very profound or new here, in fact it's rather predictable. But the performances by the girls are very good, and engaging emotionally. A mainstream Russian drama, better than a mainstream American one anyway. 3.5*

Despite a very strong turn by lead Polina Pushkaruk the melodrama and weak performance by ypung Vika Lobachova undo any intentions the director may have had. This tale of two orphans, one masquerading as younger than she is, travelling together towards Kazakhstan becomes overtly sentimental and cloying as it plods on. A miss.

What a sentimental journey this is! A film about despairing search for love, about loneliness, companionship and self-discovery - how sometimes we learn where we really belong in a least expected way and place. A melancholic hitch-hike through beautiful, but also unforgiving and forsaken landscapes of Russia, Belarus, and eventually, Kazakhstan...

An intimate yet far-ranging post-Soviet road movie by an Estonian director, filmed in Russian, with Kazakhstan as the destination. Reflects the fatalistic and melancholy outlook of orphans who are left to fend for themselves. Polina Pushkaruk adeptly anchors the movie as the somber ingénue; Victoria Lobacheva, as her ragamuffin sidekick, captures both the chaotic anger and sad naivete of a child hungry for affection.